They have their own vernacular, hardly comprehensible to the folks of other generations, but mind, they are loath to use punctuation and uppercase characters in writing. Just try to get this one: russia is mighty un-lit and going to western school is lit but i might have a bad FOMO in europe and get ghosted by kids around as i feel salty about my english no cap yes nothing to flex about but i’d rather stay lowkey about it as i might get thrown shade at in the bunch of western peers. Need a translation? Here we go: “Russia isn’t really that cool. What’s cool is going to a Western school, but I might get left out in Europe and feel awkward because my English isn’t that good. I don’t have anything to brag about, so I’d rather just stay quiet. I feel like my messages and calls would get ignored by the other kids.” How about that!?
Gen-Z, alias Zoomers, are a penultimate demographic cohort on the so-far-known list of social generations of the Western world, preceded by the Millennials and succeeded by Gen-Alpha. They have become the real talk of the world of late; here in Saqartvelo, too. One can often hear from the mouths of their parents, teachers and grandparents that “an amazing new generation is coming up” in Sakartvelo, in whose hands the motherland will relax and flourish, someday in the foreseeable future. Blessed are the believers!
All generations differ in one way or another from the previous one, and we always exude some hope that they will have enough smarts and talent to put the homeland on the right track to historical development. I feel exactly the same way, more so because I teach hundreds of kids every year, and am very much in the swim of the matter when it comes to the Gen-Z species. They definitely are our hope and main power-house, emanating both vigor and brilliance. Yet, at the same time, we are made to feel dubious about their ability to carry the burden of Georgia’s survival not only as an independent nation, but as an attractive part of our civilization, capable of peacefully and fruitfully living in the family of nations, as intricate and multifaceted as it is now.
The chances are fifty-fifty, based on my discreetly modest evaluation. These kids are extremely well-informed and intelligent, but just try to take their phones away for a second, and they might just fall victim to a psychological disorder; if they accidentally leave home without their phones in their pocket, they feel like their hands have been cut off; sitting together, they will communicate with each other via text, having no desire to go physical; without their favorite gadgets, they are crippled; they will panic if disconnected from Wi-Fi; they malfunction when their phone batteries are dying; their childhood happens indoors, seeing them suffering from the clearly symptomatic “outdoor-phobia.”
Zoomers grew up exceptionally well in the digital era, fundamentally linked to social media, within which they interconnect, acquire knowledge, and proliferate the crops of their imagination. But these enticing platforms also trigger anxiety and even paranoia among Gen-Z users, one of the most influential among them being the famous TikTok, which has a crucial role in shaping their perception, introducing a certain number of fear-inducing trends, conspiracy theories, alarming news, sense of uncertainty, mistrust, weird health tips, overload of conflicting information, emotional exhaustion, enlarged fear of being left out (FOMO), and other challenges of our time, conducive to sharp incredulity and causing them to ceaselessly scroll.
Gen-Z, as an everlasting user of social platforms, are usually hyper-aware of their online presence, painfully fearing judgment, criticism or cancel culture, falling under the impact of penchants like digital detox, which puzzlingly inspire paranoia about being too connected while accentuating the indispensability of staying updated. Gen Z’s dependence on social media for endorsement and linking can make them feel secluded or overawed when faced with online disapproval. The psychological bearing of all this might end up as an interminable exposure to distressing content, instigating mental health problems, leading to ever-growing unease, despair, and even paranoia.
To conclude, the internet in general, and TikTok in particular, is a double-edged sword for Gen-Z. To address this paranoia, Gen-Z must advance their digital literacy skills and practicable intake of online content, and achieve an equilibrium between their digital and real-world lives. While they like to exaggerate, by nurturing critical thinking and concentrating on regular human happiness and security, Gen-Z can repossess control over their online involvement, and circumnavigate the digital age more self-assuredly.
Hitting their cognizance via the internet happens very easily, because their minds and souls are extremely malleable. The question is if these young, hyper-modernized geniuses will be ready to take over the country after a couple of decades to embark on various kinds of needed activities beyond the tinkering with their computers and the programs thereof. Wherever the digital epoch is leading us, we still have to have our share of hoes and spades, cars and bikes, clothing and heat, board and lodging. Are Gen-Z learning today how to provide for all those trivialities tomorrow? Let’s hope so!
Op-Ed by Nugzar B. Ruhadze
